In 1860, the Australian gold-fields magician, Professor James Eagle, had his magic equipment stolen by a rival magician. One of the two accused was Charles Wallack, who was eventually discharged ... and then went on to work for Professor Eagle as his assistant and comic sidekick, "Goblin Sprightly".

Wallack later became Charles Stanley, posed as a doctor at Stringer's Creek, then moved to New Zealand where, as "Yankee Charlie", he was accused of fraud in relation to a supposed quartz reef discovery, then a vicious assault in 1876 for which he was gaoled for two years, and in early 1879 was turned in to police by his own wife, on the accusation of having murdered a man named Thomas Costello some seven years earlier. He had in fact been charged with the murder back in 1872, but released for want of evidence.His wife would not appear in court, and the charge was again dismissed. The same Charles Wallack was also charged in 1854 with armed robbery, and in 1865 with sexual assault on a drunken woman.

Sprightly … indeed. He died in February 1880 and not a moment too soon.

The full tale of Professor Eagle is now up at my Magic in Sydney site. It corrects a significant error in Charles Waller's "Magical Nights at the Theatre" which wrongly placed the British performer Barnardo Eagle in Australia.James Eagle toured the gold-rush regions of Australia during the boom years, both as a magician and a gold prospector.